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A deceased individual in Shared Health’s care was mistakenly released to the wrong family, who subsequently conducted a funeral and burial ceremony.
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On Friday, Shared Health CEO Lanette Siragusa said the error in their autopsy process was devastating.
“We are devastated by our recent discovery that a deceased individual, who was in the care of Shared Health for their autopsy, was released to the incorrect family, who then held a funeral and burial ceremony,” said Siragusa in a press release. “Shared Health accepts full responsibility for this extremely tragic and painful error, and we are very sorry for the hurt and harm it has caused family, friends and others in the community.”
The organization is working to reunite the correct family with the proper remains and has reached out to affected family members and community leaders to offer apologies and support. The incident has been classified as a Critical Occurrence and is under investigation to determine the cause and prevent future occurrences.
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Siragusa noted that early findings have revealed gaps in existing processes. Two other near-miss incidents were recently identified where bodies were incorrectly signed out of facilities and transported to funeral homes, but these were caught in time.
The CEO expressed personal shock and outrage over the errors and announced a call for an external review of the body custody and release processes. Immediate process improvements have been implemented, including:
– Restricting access to the morgue.
– Limiting authorization for body release to funeral homes.
– Reinforcing rigorous identification confirmation procedures before transferring bodies.
Siragusa concluded with another apology, promising that Shared Health will address these issues and improve its procedures.
“It is our job to provide dignity, respect and compassion to all those who come into our care as well as to their loved ones. In this instance, we failed,” Siragusa told reporters at a press conference on Friday. “For that I offer, my sincere apologies to the family and community members.”
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